Ahh....beautiful sunlight! Last week we went to Mexico and we got to stay in this amazing resort that has one of the biggest pools in the whole world! The first day in Mexico we just hung out and relaxed and then on the second day we went on an awesome adventure in the rain forest. The adventure was zip lining, canoing, repelling into a cave, and then visiting a Mayan ruin. The day started with a very early wake up call and a 2 hour bus ride. Once we got to the site we went canoing in a small lagoon. Then we had a short walk around the lagoon where our guide pointed out all the native plants and animals. After about 20 min of walking we got to the zip line. Our guide (his name was Ramon) told us to be very careful and not let go because in the water below the zip line were crocodiles! Everyone thought he was joking and nobody believed him, so we all went and had a blast! And then the last girl who went, looked down and she saw to crocodiles right below the landing station. (I am not sure I believe her but oh well we got a good laugh out of it.) After zip lining we walked about another 10 minutes to a cave we were supposedly repelling down into. We got there and Ramon told us to strip down to our bathing suites because it was going to be wet down in the cave. I had no idea what he was talking about and I wasn't sure I really wanted to get wet. But then I looked down into the cave and there was this huge crystal clear pool! We repelled down two at a time and when we were about half way down a guy on a plat form in the cave was taking pictures of us. (He got some really good ones, and apparently thats how the villagers make money. They call themselves paparazzi and go along with the tours and take pictures , so we decided to get a CD of pictures.) Once we reached the water a person was waiting for you at the bottom with a tube and helped you unclip yourself from the rope. We got about a half an hour to in the water and then on the way back up the cave we didn't climb we got to get pulled up by four or five guys at the top. It was sort of like a pulley system, and it was really fun! After we all got out of the pool, Ramon took us to a spot where apparently we were going to be in a Mayan ritual. We all had to stand up and keep our hands behind our backs, because otherwise we would be disrespectful. Then the guy started the ritual which was him muttering something in Mayan and then blessing us with his incense. After the ritual we walked back to where we canoed and had lunch. The lunch was great they had this big table filled with Mayan food (plus spaghetti) which tasted amazing. Later when we were done with lunch we all got back in the bus and drove for about 25min to a Mayan ruin called Coba. Coba is and ancient village in the middle of the rain forest and the village has the tallest pyramid in the northern Yucatan. We climbed to the top and it turns out it was 42 meters tall and 120 steps. There was a small room at the top and I went in because I needed shade. I was looking around and something wooshed past my head, I looked up and there were 3 small bats up in the corner of the room! Once we had cooled down we climbed back down and got into the bus and went back to the resort. The next few days we just hung out and swam in the pool. We also went to Playa Del Carmen and went to the market there. We didn't end up getting anything but we found some really really good gelato! We decided that we wanted to get out of the house after that so we went to a place called Xel-Ha. Xel-Ha is a water park ish thing that has swimming with the dolphins, cenotes, a big lagoon type thing that is a mixture of fresh water and salt water. We tubed and snorkeled in the the lagoon, we swam in the cenotes, and the cool thing is the park only has an entrance fee and then you don't have to pay for food or anything once you get in. We had and awesome time there and then came home and fell asleep right away. Our last day in Mexico we were just going to hang out at the pool and order chips and guacamole, and smoothies. That day was spoiled because a pretty big rainstorm hit and we spent almost all of out time in the room. It cleared up for about and hour so we could go get chips and guac, and then it rained again. Yesterday was Sunday and was also our travel day. We got up at 4:00am so we could get to the airport at 5:00 and be on our 7:20 flight. We got to go first class and I slept the whole flight. We had a 2 hour layover in Miami then we got first class again to Guatemala city. We got to the airport and I could barely stand because I had such a bad stomach ache (we think that the airplane lunch may have caused it). We took a taxi to Antigua and got a hotel room and as soon as we got in the room I lay down on my bed and fell asleep. I felt a little better after sleeping but then later the stomach ache came back and I still have it today. I need to go rest. Goodbye
Larissa